The Magician is an American television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby as stage illusionist Anthony Tony Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was instead named Anthony Dorian. The name change was due to a conflict with the name of a real life stage magician. Blake was a professional stage magician who used his skills to solve crimes and help the helpless. Years earlier, Blake had been in prison on a trumped-up espionage charge in an unnamed country in South America. He discovered a way to escape with his cellmate, which began his interest in escapology. The cellmate died and left him a fortune. The escape, presumably followed by exoneration of the false charges that had led to it, led to Blakes pursuit of a career in stage magic, which made him famous. He never forgot his unjust imprisonment, and it motivated him to seek justice for others. Initially, Blake used his Boeing 737 jetliner as a base of operations; it was outfitted as a mobile residence (Its like any other mobile home, only faster.) with live-in pilot Jerry Anderson (Jim Watkins). Blake frequently received assistance from acerbic columnist Max Pomeroy, portrayed by Keene Curtis, and his brilliant, wheelchair-using son Dennis (Todd Crespi). Midway through the programs run, the idea of the airplane was dropped and Blake took up residence in a posh apartment at The Magic Castle, a real club devoted to magic acts. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick, a somewhat comical sidekick played by Joseph Sirola. No explanation for the changes was given in the series. Jerry continued to make occasional minor appearances (with Watkins retaining a place in the opening credits) and Tony recruited Jerry and Max together for one further case in the new format. The Incredible Hulk series featured an episode that paid homage to both The Magician and Bixbys earlier series, My Favorite Martian. In The Incredible Hulks My Favorite Magician episode, Bixbys character became the temporary apprentice to a stage magician played by Bixbys Martian co-star, Ray Walston. Mark Wilson was on hand again as the episodes magic consultant as well. In addition, Martian co-star Pamela Britton appeared in an episode of The Magician
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 15:45:10 +0000
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